Mental exam requested for man accused of decapitating mom

The Associated Press

Published 2:26 pm, Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Photo: AP Photo/Jonathan Drew

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A house in Zebulon, N.C., is seen on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Police say the house is the scene where 18-year-old Oliver Funez decapitated his mother the previous day. Funez was charged with first-degree murder Monday after a deputy responding to a 911 call saw the man walk out of a home in Zebulon with his mother’s head in one hand and what appeared to be a large knife in the other. less

A house in Zebulon, N.C., is seen on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Police say the house is the scene where 18-year-old Oliver Funez decapitated his mother the previous day. Funez was charged with first-degree murder ... more

Photo: AP Photo/Jonathan Drew

Mental exam requested for man accused of decapitating mom

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ZEBULON, N.C. >> North Carolina prosecutors will seek a mental evaluation of an 18-year-old man charged with decapitating his mother at a home east of Raleigh.

Eighteen-year-old Oliver Funez was charged with first-degree murder Monday after a deputy responding to a 911 call saw the man walk out of a home in Zebulon with his mother’s head in one hand and what appeared to be a large knife in the other.

Deputies found the body of 35-year-old Yesenia Funez Beatriz Machado in the home.

Franklin County District Attorney Mike Waters told WRAL-TV on Tuesday it could take weeks to months to determine Funez’s mental state.

Waters was reviewing the 911 call and will decide whether to release it.

Funez was ordered held on Tuesday. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 14.

Two young girls in the home were not hurt. A fourth child was in schools when the attack occurred.

Deputies were searching the home hours after the body was discovered.

“We owe it to the victims to make sure it’s done in a proper manner — to make sure once it gets to the courthouse, justice can be served,” said sheriff’s office Chief of Staff Terry Wright.

Neighbor Leona Smith told WRAL-TV she was still trying to come to grips with such a horrible crime happening so close by.

“It’s very hurtful to know something like this can happen in your own neighborhood with such a quiet family with the standard white picket fence, trampoline, playground in the back,” she said. “To see the two younger children sitting in the ditch crying, it was heartbreaking.”

Neighbor Eddie Garner was at the home when the woman’s husband returned home late Monday afternoon.